Okami: Crystal of the Beasts
by Chiro-the-Dragon
Summary: Peace on Nippon is about to break, when an artifact, The Crystal of the Beasts, was awakened and unleashed a spell on the land. Now, Okami Amaterasu will have to go back on Nippon, only to find that everyone was transformed into... Animals?
1. Prologue

**Okami: Crystal of the Beasts**

_Oh the great Okami Amaterasu had banished Yami to the underworld! Never shall the Lord of Darkness and his minions rise again! Nippon lives in peace again, thanks to the great Goddess of the Sun! _

The real question is how long will peace stand until another major event happens, and Amaterasu will be needed once more? Although, it won't be demons causing the chaos that is yet to come.

--

"You sure it's all right to be here?"

"Of course! Would I ever get us into trouble?"

"Y-Yes…"

"Oh be quiet…" Two young delinquents had sneaked out of their houses in the middle of the night, and decided it would be fun exploring an old temple. This temple was located near the small town of Yakushima, a Temperate Rainforest area of Nippon, but it is rarely visited by strangers, since many hardly know about this region. In a legend, it tells that there is a strange artifact named 'Crystal of the Beasts.' No one knows about its true power, but Nippon is soon going to find out. Ahem, getting back to the two children…

"Here it is! I finally found it!" A young boy exclaimed, "Come quick! Come quick!"

"Gah! I'm coming!" Another yelled back, reaching his friend to find a large room, and in the middle, shimmered the most fascinating treasure the young boys had ever laid their little eyes on.

"Whoa… That looks so cool!" Before the older boy could reach out and grab the artifact, the younger one quickly yanked on his shirt.

"No, don't!" The young one hissed, "It might be cursed by the gods! We need to leave!"

"PFFFFT! What can possibly go wrong?" The older boy touched the crystal, but suddenly, its glow grew enormous, filling the large, temple room with blinding, violet light. The two boys screamed and tried to run, but their legs felt heavy and they tripped on the solid ground.

_**ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!!!!!**_

The thunderous boom echoed all across Nippon, startling villagers, and made everyone come out of their homes. The thunder grew faint, and was followed by flashing lights, that quickly sprinted across the land. Soon after, nobody had made a single sound. Nippon had all fallen unconscious as it was seen.

Then after a few minutes, all madness breaks loose in the peaceful Nippon.


	2. Bark Goes the Issun

**Okami: Crystal of the Beast**

_**Chapter 1**_

_Bark Goes the Issun_

Meanwhile, in the Celestial Plains, Okami Amaterasu sat on her perch, looking down at the world. She wasn't quite as busy. All she could do was to bring wind when needed, and rain to crops that where withered, change day to night and so on. Not quite as amazing as her adventure through Nippon, where she was destroying the demons that cursed the lands, revived the many Guardian Saplings, and mostly, enjoyed the adventure with her friends. She missed all of the people she knew, but mostly, that little poncle who really knew how to put humor in tough times. She yawned, and rested her head.

"What's wrong, ma chérie?" Waka mused at her bored state, "Feeling a bit of boredom? Not as much action ever since you left Nippon, hmm?"

Amaterasu groaned like a cranky dog, and simply returned to her work, bringing in the divine wind, just to feel fresh air. Waka simply laughed and walked back the other direction. The Celestial Plains was a beautiful land, but even though it's paradise, paradise can get lonely. Suddenly, Amaterasu's senses alerted her, as if a storm was coming. She looked around her, but no commotion was happening. Her senses grew into a fearful look, as if something had gone horribly wrong, but it wasn't evil.

"Amaterasu! Come quick!" Waka yelled at the Sun Goddess, who quickly got off her post and ran towards the Celestial. He had a tense look on him, and he simply pointed at an image that was being projected on a futuristic machine. The image became clear. A purple crystal with the shape of a kite appeared. It had three spikes on the top, and in the middle, the mark of a paw, which was a dull black. The crystal was furiously shinning, illuminating the room that it was held in. Amaterasu knew perfectly what it was. Her eyes widened, and she backed away from the image.

"Indeed, Amaterasu. That is the Crystal of the Beasts and it has been awakened by a mortal." Waka spoke silently, regretting that each word was the truth. "You know the rest of the story…"

All gods and immortals knew about the legend. It is said that only gods can hold in its power to use it. The gods used it to take a real, living form instead of being spirits that simply pass through walls and cannot feel the wind and the warm sun. Although, if a mortal was to simply touch the crystal, its full power will unleash and put a spell on all humans of the land, by turning them all to animals. Amaterasu began to pace back and forth, not knowing what to do to release the spell on the humans.

"Amaterasu, I think it's time for you to return to the mortal world." Waka spoke, after thinking critically, but Amaterasu shook her head and by the looks of her wolf face, she seemed to say, "Are you crazy?"

"I shall remain in your post while you are gone, but you may have to help a bit when you are down on Earth to…" He had a sheepish grin. Waka obviously did not know how to use the Celestial Brush as good as Amaterasu or Issun. Amaterasu nodded, and she sprinted towards the Ark of Yamato, Waka following from behind, since he didn't think I wolf could drive that thing, god or no god. It was full speed ahead, and the finally reached the Cave of Nagi.

"Take care of yourself, ma chérie! Be sure to find the crystal, and restore everyone back to normal!" With those words, Waka set off back to the Celestial Plains; leaving Amaterasu in the exact same place she awakened Yomigami, the God of Rejuvenation. Turning her head the other direction, she spotted the door of light, which will lead straight to Konahana. She trotted towards it, and leaped into the passageway.

Everything was green in the spirit realm of the area, like always. Amaterasu saw that no plant was harmed, and she took another step. Nothing was out of the ordinary. She sighed with relief, seeing that not much damage was done.

"Okami Amaterasu! You have returned!" A voice familiar to Amaterasu echoed in a heavenly voice. Amaterasu knew who that was, and looked at the large Guardian Tree, but all she saw was a pure white swan. It seemed to be wearing Sakuya's clothing, and Amaterasu recognized it finally.

"Sakuya? Is that you?" The Sun Goddess barked at the Swan. Sakuya bowed her head, and landed in front of the great goddess.

"This is the first time I heard you talk, Amaterasu. As in clearly, but that is because I am now an animal, correct?" She questioned, looking at her new wings. "That is quite amazing, I get to finally hear you voice!"

"Thank you, but there is no time for pleasant talk, is everyone in Kamiki all right?" Amaterasu nervously asked.

"They are fine except that they have been turned into a different form. There was a riot going on earlier though… But everyone seems a bit calmer now." With that, Amaterasu left the area and headed into Kamiki Village.

"AMMY!!!" Someone had called out, and that made Amaterasu stop in her tracks. "A-A-Ammy??? Is that REALLY you???"

The voice spoke again, and coming from the hill in Kamiki was a black wolf. Its cape was fluttering as it ran, and a sword with a paintbrush end was on its back like a Divine Instrument. One thing that really got Amaterasu shocked was its hat, which looked exactly like…

"A-Ammy! It's me, Issun the Wandering Artist!" said the poncle, or at least WAS a poncle. He now looked like a full sized wolf with a healthy coat of fur. "Ammy! Ammy! You returned!! Gosh, I'm so happy yet look at me!! I'm a furball! What on your name happened here in Nippon--?"

Issun was caught off by a loud, hyena laugh, coming from Ammy herself. She was already on her back, clutching her stomach. This, of course, made Issun very annoyed.

"Hey! Stop laughing! This isn't funny at all!" Issun protested, but Ammy was still cackling hard. "I said quit it!"

"HA HA HA! Sorry Issun, but just looking at you like this is just hilarious!" Amaterasu got up on her four legs, but was still snickering. After that, all she could do was pounce on him and lick his face off.

"Cut that out! I hate wolf slobber!" Issun spat. Ammy giggled a bit.

"You know, wolf slobber is what you have your mouth now." She replied, "Now come along, drama queen. We need to find what's causing all this, and it's nowhere near here."


	3. Why the Rush?

**Okami: Crystal of the Beats**

_**Chapter 2**_

_Why the Rush?_

"Ammy, why are you in a hurry to find this Crystal of whatever?" Issun asked the great goddess, who was frantically trotting towards Kamiki Village. "Everyone doesn't seem hurt. You have all the time you want to spend some time here again."

"Because I need to return to my post again! I cannot leave my duties behind! I have to see if everything goes right, and Waka STILL does not have the complete knowledge of the Celestial Brush! There is no time for pleasant vacations for gods!" She replied strictly, keeping her pace. They had finally reached the end of the trail, and in the middle of the village was a group of animal villagers. A red panda turned around, grabbing his stick to keep him up. He jumped, and gasped at the sight of Amaterasu.

"The gods be praised! Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, has returned in our crisis!" Mr. Orange yelled out in glee. Many others turned around, and cheered of Amaterasu's return.

"Amaterasu! She's alive!"

"Our prayers gave you strength to fight!"

"Amaterasu, what will you do to turn us back?"

Issun felt a bit jealous as Amaterasu gained all the attention from the villagers. He had an urge to tell everyone that they both needed to find something and hurry, but he kept his mouth shut.

"I will do my best to clear this curse on Nippon, but I must hurry. I cannot be on this world for a long time, for I need to return to the Celestial Plains right after." Amaterasu spoke kindly, but still in the same tone as she spoke to Issun.

"Oh… Well I wish you a safe journey, oh great goddess of the sun. We will pray for your safety along the path you take!" Mr. Orange exclaimed, "And Issun, take good care of the goddess!"

"Yeah, yeah… I know." Issun groaned. Stuck with Ammy again, and this time she didn't want to stay very long on this planet. "Ammy, are you SURE you don't want to spend a bit more time here? I mean, being up there with the Half-Baked Prophet must be BOR-ING." He asked Amaterasu, with a puppy look on his face.

"I told you Issun! I can't! You know why!" With that, they both darted off into the outsides of Kamiki Village and into the Shinshu Fields. There were two paths to take, and Amaterasu needed to take both in order to find information of the Crystal of the Beasts' location. "Err..."

"What's wrong, oh great goddess of the sun who doesn't seem to have a sense of direction anymore?" Issun joked, lying down on the soft grass. "If you are such in a hurry, better think of something quick~"

"Be quiet, Issun!" Amaterasu hissed, "I just don't know where to look for information, that's all! I know this place inside and outside!"

"How about checking Kamui? TONS of info there! That's where we found the Ark of Yamato as well!" Issun mused. He was enjoying seeing the goddess in a rush, for she seemed out of track for the first time. "And maybe we could explore some other areas as well! I wonder what we are getting ourselves into… Man! It's killing me!"

"Well, I am delighted to see that you are full of energy, but we need to get a move on." She sprinted yet again towards the hill holding the short cut to Kamui.

"Ammy! Come on! My legs are killing me and I'll probably collapse if this goes on!! AMMY!! Gosh, she really needs to lay back sometimes…" Issun shook his head and raced after her, passing the mailman, now an ostrich, which took advantage of his new speed. Soon, Issun was running out of breath trying to just keep the same pace with her, and tried many times to get her to slowdown. She was treating a shortcut like a long run! Issun tripped many times over roots, branches, and rocks until his gave in. "Owies…. Ammy, can we PLEASE take a break? I have not even gotten used to this things yet!"

"Come on Issun. You can do better than that…" Ammy sighed and walked over to her bruised friend. Suddenly, another person had arrived to the scene.

"Amaterasu, you have returned, I suppose." A voice spoke from nearby, but neither Ammy nor Issun knew where it came from. "… Down here." The voice spoke again, annoyed. Amaterasu and her Wolf-Poncle friend locked eyes on a cat, that looked an awfully lot like Oki. Worse, it was Oki. Issun tried very hard to snicker the least bit.

"Oki? Oki, is that you?" Amaterasu asked the Onia Tribe member, who was now from a fierce wolf, larger and scarier than Amaterasu, to a cute, little cat. "You look… Different."

"OF COURSE, I KNOW THAT." Oki hissed like a mangy cat. He tried to just lick his hand and clean himself to calm down. "Mreow… Bleh, this will need to get used to."


	4. Bonding Would be Great

**Okami: Crystal of the Beasts**

**Chapter 3**

_Bonding Would be Great_

"You're kidding right?"

Amaterasu and Issun had just met Oki once again, only that he had changed, a lot for that matter. They have also found out that the entire Oina Tribe is now little cats instead of valiant wolves.

"Look, I'm wearing the mask! I have these odd, white marking! I'm freaking Blue and Red! YES, I AM NOT KIDDING, I AM OKI." Oki was furious now with Issun playing around with him about his new form.

"Hey Oki… BARK, BARK, BARK!" Issun barked at the Oina warrior, who quickly frazzled his feline fur and hissed.

"NOT FUNNY!" Oki spat, cleaning his hands again, trying to calm himself down yet again.

"Issun quit it! We need to focus! Not tick off Oki!" Ammy growled at her Wolf/Poncle friend, who quickly stopped laughing and had his tail between his legs. "Thank you… Now Oki, do you know anything about the Crystal of the Beasts?"

"The Crystal of the Beasts? Of course! Everyone knows about the legend!" Oki mewed, purring. "Why? Is there something you do not know or have forgotten about it?"

"I want to find its location." Amaterasu Replied. Oki stopped purring and looked at the goddess, dumfounded. He scratched his head, fiddled with his whiskers, but he then shook his head.

"Then you have the wrong person—err, animal. I only know about the legend, and nothing else. Fortunately, Madam Fawn, I heard, has great knowledge, and may spark the way." With that, Amaterasu leaped into action, running towards the shortcut, and barked a goodbye over her shoulder, with Issun almost dying to catch up. Now Issun felt anger inside of him. Not because Ammy would always sprint off like a maniac, but because she wanted to clear this whole mission up. She didn't want to spend time on Nippon again. He felt almost heart broken inside.

"Hey, uh, Ammy?" Issun stopped in his tracks to catch his breath. "Can you stop for just one second? I mean it's almost nighttime…" Indeed it was. The moon was creeping over the horizon, and the sun disappeared in a beautiful sunset. Amaterasu decided to rest, which made Issun sigh in relief. They finally got the time to talk to each other for a while, but then this question popped up.

"Listen Ammy, I'm just curious but, what happens if a god fell in love with a mortal?" Issun asked the Sun Goddess, who looked at him with an odd look.

"Why do you ask that?" Amaterasu replied, and then shook her head. "I honestly have never thought of that, or the outcome." She laid her head down and curled her body up, ready to sleep. "Well, I guess it's been a long day… Let's get some sleep for tomorrow."

"Heck yeah, my legs are killing me." Issun glared at the snickering goddess, and quickly fell to sleep. A few hours past, and Issun was in deep sleep, meaning that he could not be awakened. Amaterasu opened her eyes and stood up. She looked at her friend, and bowed her head.

"I can't believe I am in such a rush… I think Issun's right… Maybe it's best to spend time with friends that I haven't seen in a while…" Amaterasu spoke softly, and looked at Issun. She smiled but had the same question in her mind at the same time:

"_What happens if a god fell in love with a mortal?"_

She thought of it again, thinking of many outcomes, but she grew tired. She looked at Issun once more, and then made her decision.

"All right Issun, I'll slow down." She whispered before heading towards Issun, and snuggled up next to him. She smiled once more and fell fast asleep.

--

"Mmmf…. Ammy?" Issun woke up lazily, and looked over where Amaterasu was. "Ammy?" He spoke again, looking around for the Sun Goddess, until he heard Amaterasu waking up next to him. Issun was startled and shot on his feet. "Ammy! What are you doing there?!"

"What? What's wrong Issun?" Ammy questioned Issun, who had bright red face under his fur.

"Why are you curled up next to me???" He stuttered in embarrassment and in shock.

"Why? Can't I sleep with my best friend?" Ammy grinned, and Issun's face softened.

"Well, I guess you are just going to sprint into the forest now are you?" Issun asked, annoyed that he would need to run again.

"No. We're going to walk. We're not in a hurry." Amaterasu mused at Issun's reaction, whose eyes were widened.

"Ammy… Are you okay? I thought you were in a hurry!" Issun said with a shocked expression, but Ammy shook her head.

"I was thinking about your words, and I guess you're right. We can take our time, just not a whole year!" Amaterasu grinned and nudged Issun. "Come on, you Poncle Wolf. We need to head towards Madam Fawn, who might be a fawn already."

With that, the pair soon headed to Agata forest, and Issun was happy that Ammy was going to take her time and bond with her old friends yet again. Ammy still couldn't figure out the question that Issun asked though, so she decided to ask some friends of hers…

"Hmm… 'What if a god fell in love with a human?' is a good question…" Yomigami spoke. All of the Brush Gods where gathered by Amaterasu, and they were all tied up in the question.

"Do you really need to find out, great Amaterasu?" Tachigami squeaked from its sword perch.

"I suppose something good will happen to the mortal." Nuregami smiled.

"Or maybe it will cause catastrophe." Bakugami snorted. Then one of the piglets lit his bomb, which cause him panic.

"Hmm… The real question is why the question if bugging me so much…" Amaterasu barked, and scratched her ear.

"Maybe… Maybe you may like a mortal?" One of the brush gods spoke out, which made Amaterasu's face get a new red marking, or a blush in other words.

"Of course not! It can't happen!" All of them laughed and continued to argue about the same topic.


End file.
